Trial of Time: A Hogwarts Legacy Story

(P2) Chapter 6 - A Solution

Ciri POV

"This is worse, much worse than anything I ever expected," Ominis exhales shakily. He's been pacing back and forth for over twenty minutes now. Sebastian and I are sitting on the sofa in silence.

"Do you all understand what will happen if Marvolo opens the Chamber? What else could they possibly have planned?! The Basilisk-" his voice raises slightly, filled with pure fear and anxiety.

"The beast is a Basilisk?! They haven't seen one of those for hundreds of years! You're telling me the Gaunts have had a bloody Basilisk hiding for centuries under one of the safest places in the wizarding world?!" Sebastian panics, standing up. He approaches Ominis, grabbing him by the shoulders and stopping his pacing.

Ominis looks like he's going to vomit.

I pick at a thread on the sleeve of my robe. "What do you know about it, Ominis? Do you know the location of the Chamber?"

He sighs. "My grandfather Corvinus was the last Gaunt to open it. He apparently tried his best to hide the entrance from everyone and sealed it shut. I don't know how much my father truly knows about it. All I've been told is that it's disguised under the plumbing in one of the bathrooms."

Sebastian snorts. "That doesn't exactly narrow it down for us. There's tons of bathrooms in this school. And even if we find the right one, how would you open it?"

"I don't know."

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Third Person Perspective

Without the other two knowing, he decided to sneak away somewhere that he knew he could find answers. He scoured through the Restriction Section thoroughly, unable to find anything about Basilisks or the Chamber itself. The only notable mention was in a highly controversial, uncensored history book. A small snippet about Salazar Slytherin himself which mentioned the Chamber as "legend" and "myth," and left it at that.

Fortunately, his background provided him with a basic foundation of Dark magic. He had a couple of ideas about the Basilisk, but he needed more information to further develop a plan.

So, off he went, donned in street clothing and dark robes. He made sure to conceal the hood over his face, though he had a feeling he may still stick out in the crowd for obvious reasons. He managed to slip into Knockturn Alley unnoticed, quickly making his way over to Swelters Books and Tomes. An old, haggardly witch stands at the front as a clerk, smiling at him with several teeth missing.

"Can I help ye' with somethin', dearest?"

He forced his most charismatic smile, leaning forward with a whisper.

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Ciri POV

"Blood bonding?! You have to be joking." Sebastian crosses his arms, his expression sour. I look between him and Ominis nervously.

"It's the only thing I can think of. If I bond my blood with the Basilisk, it will only obey me," Ominis explains, holding the tome.

Sebastian gives an exasperated sigh. "How would bonding yourself to the Basilisk prevent anything bad from happening?"

Ominis raises the book. "I can command the Basilisk to hide itself from anyone else. I'm one of the heirs to Slytherin, and if I bond my blood to it first, it will follow only my command for as long as I shall live. Not my father's. And certainly not Marvolo's. They can look for it all they want, but it will never show itself unless I allow it."

Sebastian looks unconvinced, and somewhat infuriated. "You've spent years telling me how horrible it is to study the Dark Arts. Making me feel guilty for trying everything possible to find a cure for Anne. And now it's suddenly okay for you to toil around by bonding yourself to a fucking Basilisk by blood magic?!"

"The difference between you and I is that I am not stealing an evil relic from an old tomb, or using Unforgivable Curses on other human beings," Ominis grits his teeth. "I am trying to save Ciri, and the rest of the bloody school while I'm at it. Do you really think I want to do this?"

The room falls silent for a moment. Sebastian runs a hand through his hair. Now, he's the one pacing about the Undercroft anxiously. "Do you understand what this will do to you, Ominis? It always comes with a price."

"What kind of price?" I interject, my voice almost squeaking.

"I do understand." He says bluntly to Sebastian before he turns to me. "And to answer your question... one must always make a sacrifice when using this type of magic. Ten years is nothing-"

"Ten... what? Are you saying this will take ten years from your life?!" I gasp.

Ominis sighs.

"The price that I will pay is nothing compared to the lives that will be lost if we do not act. I do not fear death nor darkness, Cirilla. I have been surrounded by both for my entire life."